NOVEMBER: Books of our Childhood

This month, members were asked to talk about favourite books from their childhood.

TAM:
Tam had brought along her original Beatrix Potter books. She adored the Peter Rabbit series, with Mrs Tiggy Winkle being her favourite. She remembers being afraid of Mr McGregor!
Another much loved book was The Littlest Reindeer by Joahanna de Witt. The reindeer doesn't have any antlers and can't go to school until they grow. He has to learn to wait and be patient.
Little House of My Own is a book about cubby houses that children love to build with illustrations in black and white.
But her prized possession is a badge from the Famous Five Club. She had written to England requesting it, after having read all the books in the series.

JUDY G:
One of her favourite books was Grimm's Fairy Tales. She reread some of the stories, and commented that several of them were very grim. Her favourites were Hansel and Gretel and The Elves and the Shoemaker.
In contrast, Judy also showed a recent book "Clem Always Could" by Sarah Watt about a boy who didn't want to go swimming. This book had been read to her grandson, who at one stage also had a fear of the water.

KRIS:
Kris was another who loved The famous Five particularly Five Go to Smugglers Top. She loved the Britishness of the characters, the holidays they had, the smuggler's tunnels in Cornwall.
Another favourite was Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights Dream.

WENDY:
Wendy bought along a treasured copy of Jane at Lantern Hill by L M Montgomery.
In the story Jane is a misfit in a cheerless house. Her mother is a wimp and her father has been missing for many years, and thought to dead.
When she is later reunited with her father, life has changed for her. Grandma no longer has power over her, her parents have separated, but they later get together and the story has a happy ending.
Wendy loved the beautiful descriptions of King Edward Island as in the Anne stories.

PAMELA:
Pamela brought along a book of amorphic drawings (distorted pictures) and will share them in greater detail next time.

ED:
Welcome .....just enjoying listening this time.

CLAURINE:
Her favourite was Black Beauty and she remembered first reading it (and crying) as an eleven year old when she had his tonsils out.
It was written in 1877 by Anna Sewell  who died 5 months after the book (her only book) was published. It was very successful with 50 million copies being sold. In the story, told from the point of view of horses, they speak to each other and in those days everything was done by horses.

ROSEMARY:
Rosemary's book was The Diary of Anne Frank. She couldn't remember her original thoughts about it, but after rereading it, commented that as a 13 year old school girl, Anne was very intelligent and precocious. She had a great understanding of what was happening, the depression etc.
Her last entry was August 1st 1944. Soon after this, all 8 who had been hiding in the attic were arrested, not knowing who had tipped off the police. Her father was the only one to survive the Concentration Camps and devoted his life to spreading the word about the diary.

PAT:
Pat had chosen To Kill a Mockingbird. She thoroughly enjoyed it at 14 years old, but doesn't like rereading anything, knowing what is happening.
But she did enjoy the language, how it transported you to the south of USA.
She also commented on the changes with modern life; children played out in the yard, they used their imagination. It reminded her of how she has spent many holidays.

CONNIE:
Connie also chose a Famous Five book, Five Get into Trouble.
She appreciated how gently Enid Blyton taught the readers to behave. In the book, the children lived in the town but had their adventures in the country. They went camping, used sleeping bags, buried their garbage etc. There were lots of  lessons that children could learn from the book..eg bike safety.
These stories made her reminisce of her childhood growing up in England.

ANNE:
Anne chose a book that her daughter had read and recommended.
The List Maker by Robin Klein published in 1997.
The story revolves around a young girl whose mother had died, her father is always busy and so  she is looked after by eccentric old aunts.To cope with her life, the girl makes lists. Anne found it quite funny and touching at the same time.

ROSEMARY:
The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis.
Having seen the movie and feeling that it was quite different, Rosemary reread the book and enjoyed it more this time around. She found that regressing to reading at that age group was very relaxing.
She also read one of The Famous Five books. She thought the content was a bit lame and the children always very good, which was not the case in the C S Lewis story.

MAREE:
The Bobbsey Twins at Indian Hollow by Laura Lee Hope.
Maree had read this at a very young age and recently had visited many  Op Shops etc to track down a copy. 
The Bobbsey Twins want to go to summer camp. Their father and mother rent a house on Indian Lake and create a summer camp for the four children and four of their friends. Maree found the treatment of the black servants very interesting- what would be classed as racism today was then seen as the norm.

JUDY J
Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner, first published in 1894 and is still in publication today.
The author's early life may have been the model for the 'blended family' we read about in the book. Her mother married 3 times and children were born in each relationship.
Judy had very vivid memories of being distraught at the death of her namesake.
On rereading it, she was again drawn to the character of Judy. Ethel Turner had said in her notes for the book, that she couldn't see any future for Judy....too wild, too bright, she doesn't fit into society...she has to be repressed and so she 'kills' her off. Certainly a reflection of the times. 

JULIA:
Julia proudly showed her copy of the Enid Blyton book, The Mystery of the Strange Bundle. This had been presented to her as a Sunday School prize in 1952!
She also pointed out differences in the 1946 and 2011 editions of The Magic Faraway Tree including the names of the characters.....Fanny and Dick are now called Franny and Rich.  

DIANNE:
Famous Five Go Off To Camp. 
The children seemed so innocent on the stories, but Dianne found that often there was a let down after a big build up in the storyline
She also particularly could relate to their adventures with stream trains and the black market, having spent her younger life in England. 
  
JANE:
Jane also read the Seven Little Australians. It had been her favourite book and then she watched and enjoyed the ABC series. 
She had also  enjoyed Little House on the Prairie.

LAURA:
Laura had grown up with a German grandmother and remembered the book Der Struwwelpeter by Dr Heinrich Hoffman. She was fortunate to recently have been able to find another copy. The book contains nursery rhymes and fairytales, told in German but with English translations by Mark Twain. Each one has a message, eg playing with matches, sucking thumbs, eating up our dinner. They are great stories with morals/message you don't forget.

JO: 
Jo has reread all 21 of the Famous Five books. She couldn't believe how innocent the children were and yet they had all these adventures and nothing really bad happens to them.

JOAN:
Joan missed last month but wanted to share her Australiana book, S'pose I Die by Hector Holthouse.
The story begins when Evelyn Evans arrived in Cairns from England, in 1912, to marry Charles Maunsell. They lived under very primitive and basic conditions.
Joan described them as beautiful stories of hardship and life growing up on the Atherton Tablelands.

NEXT MONTH - December  Christmas  stories.
Don't forget
Lunch at The Evergreen Cafe, your Secret Santa gift, and if possible a bra for the Uplift Project.
For more information go to www.upliftbras.org